Kurt Hohmann

Fiction writer, lifelong reader, practicing Heathen, pagan preacher, hand drummer, storyteller, mad kitchen scientist, foodie, lover of natural spaces, sometimes metaphysical teacher, woodworker, retired-from-corporate-BS, probable socialist.

Public Key

npub1h4wks94j78ul8efqc8dhczw02j8j44c0rtplqvay7nur9wwevsyqz2j0ph

NIP-05 Address

KurtHohmann_at_writing.exchange@mostr.pub

Profile Code

nprofile1qqst6htgz6e0r70nu5svrkmup884fre26u834slsxwj0f7pjh8vkgzqpz4mhxue69uhhyetvv9ujumt0wd68ytnsw43qkswzpc

Publishing to

relay.mostr.pub

Author Public Key

npub1h4wks94j78ul8efqc8dhczw02j8j44c0rtplqvay7nur9wwevsyqz2j0ph

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Last Notes

2024-07-29 11:23:22

#PennedPossibilities 390
If the FBI were to look through your computer, would you be concerned about your search history?
A few dark samples:
-human kidney viability in organ cooler
-facial appearance, various states of decomp
-drill bit size, type for brain implant surgery
-effects, dosage of rohypnol
-can a seizure brought on through ECT cause heart attack
-time to death, hanging
-efficacy of various suicide methods
That last one led to weeks of Google asking every day if I was okay.

2024-07-28 12:08:51

#WordWeavers 28
Are any of your MC’s ever pregnant or nursing on page?
Nope. The lives of my MCs tend to be far too hectic to even set aside time for relationships. They are all welcome to seek special someones and consider mundane family lives, but not until I am done chasing them up into the trees and throwing rocks at them.

2024-06-24 09:57:46

#WordWeavers 24
What would it take for you to give up your writing your current book?
Take away my computer? I'll keep writing it down with pen and paper.
Tie my hands behind my back? No worries. I'll tell the story orally.
End my life? That part of my soul which retains my memories will keep it going. I'm confident there's no shortage of audience for a good story in the afterlife.
Actually, since it falls into the "unfinished business" category, I'd likely take up the haunting hobby.

2024-05-10 17:05:32

Changing of the guard, observed today in the trillium patch
#bloomscrolling
https://cdn.masto.host/writing/media_attachments/files/112/417/876/703/383/311/original/9969da768c54fa3c.jpg

2024-04-02 11:50:47

#WordWeavers 2
What books/resources have you used to improve your writing?
I've read a lot of craft books and have gleaned nuggets from most of them. I've also worked through a few of the "Great Courses" lectures on writing, and gotten bits and pieces there also. But for the past few years, my most useful resource for craft enhancement has been listening to the Writing Excuses podcast. The most useful one for motivation and commiseration has been chatting with fellow writers, like you folks. 🙂

2024-03-16 13:02:50

#WritersCoffeeClub 16
How much do you edit as you write, and how much do you leave to the second draft?
Which stage is "the second draft?"
1. Brilliant idea! Write dialogue between a couple of characters.
2. Rewrite portions of the dialogue. Add some actions.
3. Rewrite portions of the dialogue and change a few actions. Add some scenery.
4. Rewrite portions of the dialogue, actions, and scenery. Submit x for critique.
5. Return to step 1 and start scene x+1. Rewrite scene x based on critique.

2023-12-11 12:57:43

#WordWeavers Dec 11
Who supports your writing the most?
The voices.
I mean, outside influencers including critique partners, beta readers, and friends all offer support, inspiration, and suggestions, but only the voices in my head can get my butt into the chair and fingers on the keyboard.

2023-10-21 14:00:21

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@npub10d5…vvxa Thank you! I struggle with this section because of the mixture of telepathy, spoken word, inner monolog, and quickly scrawled notes...and trying to distinguish them all.

2023-10-21 13:18:13

#WritersCoffeeClub 21
How do you write an internal monologue and/or telepathy?
Telepathy can get complicated.
In this story, a goddess uses both speaking out loud and mental projection.
The MC-POV 'hears' those projected thoughts, but cannot answer in kind. She can discern the difference between spoken and projected only with concentration.
In the scene, the two converse while knowing there's an eavesdropper, so the MC-POV uses paper to ask her real questions.
Opinions? Did this work?
https://cdn.masto.host/writing/media_attachments/files/111/273/179/059/173/922/original/97fb5f921c1cd681.jpg

2023-10-03 12:46:13

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@npub1k24…26zw I do think "neurotypical" is the modern equivalent of "normal"—a term that was derided even in my Psych 101 class back in the early Neolithic.
Interesting how that pendulum swings, as I'd likely be upset with anyone trying to label me psychologically "normal" today.

2023-10-03 12:27:38

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@npub1k24…26zw I hesitated to call it a disability, but it is considered a form of OCD. In the book, I presented it as more of a quirk than a problem, but now that I'm starting to think in terms of a possible book 2, I think it will be taken to the next level.

2023-10-03 12:10:35

#PennedPossibilities 90
Do any of your characters have disabilities? Can you relate to them on some level?
Zoe, like me, has some arithmomania. For example, she counts her steps: from bed to bathroom, from car to building entrance, from desk to breakroom. Most often it's a repeating eight-count. PTSD has made it worse.
Haley, like me, has an auditory processing disorder. If you want her (or me) to grasp anything, put it in writing. Do not offer either of us an instructional video.

2023-09-27 11:36:08

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@npub1cz0…wk5s @npub125d…yray This is a *much* more interesting list than anything I'm ever approached about in a pub. If I've heard a Taylor Swift song I didn't know it was her, and I had to look up Ed Sheeran, but I could keep a conversation on psychopomps going until the wee hours.

2023-09-22 11:44:29

#WritersCoffeeClub 22
Would you consider collaborating on a book?
I've tried it a couple of times. And I'm not sure I'd want to again.
Good collaboration requires a level of intimacy that's challenging to achieve. I needed to share not only my writing process, but also my thinking process, and there are some dark places in this brain I'm not comfortable showing anybody.
It's even more difficult to walk away from. After attempted collaboration, we couldn't ever go back to being "just friends."

2023-09-14 06:04:24

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@npub1k74…dmux Lilith, my 21yo python, agrees. 😁

2023-09-08 12:23:33

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@npub10d5…vvxa My SIL has remarked that the first time she met me, roughly age 9, I was parked in the backyard on a summer day with a stack of encyclopedias on either side of my lounge chair that I was quite obviously reading.
So cheers from another encyclopedia reader 😆

2023-08-31 12:23:47

#WritingWonders 8/31
Has your MC or antagonist ever approved of what the other does?
All the time.
Natalie hired Haley because she thought they'd partner up well. Similar professional interests, methodologies, and mental processes. All things that might seem bizarre to an outsider, but to each other, they just click. For each of them looking at the other's work, there's not just approval, but admiration.
It's differences in ethics that drive the wedge between them.

2023-08-23 12:25:35

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@npub16uc…k62q Thank you. I seem to have gotten something in my own eyes just writing it.

2023-08-23 12:12:34

#WritingWonders 8/23
In your MC's mind, what's the worst thing they've ever done?
When her grandmother was dying, ten-year-old Haley was afraid to step closer, afraid to come in contact with the gray shell of the person she'd grown up with, the one who listened to her and loved her for who she was. She has never forgiven herself for not hugging her nana goodbye before her mother arrived and dragged her out of the room.

2023-08-22 12:17:18

#PennedPossibilities 48
How does your MC react to compliments?
Suspiciously.
In the often cutthroat world of academia, Haley learned that whenever a fellow student got close enough to her research work to compliment it, she needed to guard her notes.
In social situations, she's learned that compliments on her physical appearance rarely coincide with actual interest in her as a person. Usually meeting said compliments with a barrage of science-speak is enough to quell any lustful advances.

2023-08-22 12:00:14

#WritingWonders 8/22
What makes your hero feel weak?
Not being able to figure people out when they're conscious.
Unconscious brains, REM sleep, dreams: these things can all be monitored and measured and quantified. Conscious people say things they don't mean, do things they don't want to, and tend toward acting irrationally. How is one researcher supposed to interact with so many conflicting subjects?

2023-08-21 13:35:26

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@npub10d5…vvxa I almost skipped this one, then realized that since my MC has never cultivated any relationship with more depth than "acquaintance," I could envision her treating the question like a scientific inquiry. Instead of bemoaning her own lack of social connection, she instead asks for more inputs to plug into the equation. 😀

2023-08-21 12:33:20

#WritingWonders 8/21
MC POV: A stranger makes a crude comment about your SO or BFF. How do you react?
Whoa, whoa. We need to dial this whole thing back a bit. You have to work your way up to a question like that; you can't just drop it on me.
Where are we? In a lab? At a coffee shop? Stuck in traffic?
More important, who *is* this SO or BFF? How long have I known them? How did we meet? No doubt they're bigger than me; can they intimidate this stranger with just a look?

2023-08-18 12:55:04

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@npub16uc…k62q Haley was so certain she had a grip on what other people did to flirt. She *studied* for that experiment!
Then again, her creator is one of those people with a lifetime of being told things like, "you know, that woman was flirting with you," and responding with "Huh?" 😀

2023-08-18 12:39:34

#WritingWonders 8/18
Is your MC good at flirting?
Haley is not. And of course, she has scientific proof. As an undergrad, she took part in a psychology experiment dealing with people's perceptions of flirting, in which subjects were paired up speed-dating style and instructed on the spot to either flirt or not flirt.
While the study's average was 82% correct in detecting when someone was NOT flirting, and 36% correct in detecting when they were, 0% of Haley's partners detected her flirting.

2023-08-17 13:56:08

#WritingWonders 8/17
MC POV: What is a deal breaker in a friendship and/or relationship?
The obvious stuff for sure: dishonesty, betrayal. I put up with some of that a few years back and I just don't have time to deal with it.
But just as important? If they don't make any effort to understand my other priorities, then why should they make my list? There's going to be plenty of times when I'm in "Do Not Disturb" mode. If they're jealous of my career, then we're not gonna make it.

2023-08-11 11:15:07

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@npub1k24…26zw @npub175l…55we Heh - most of the work involves rebuilding a front porch and extending it into a deck. Cutting stringers and laying out all the posts and joists has been fun. Digging the post holes by hand, not so much. 😀

2023-08-11 11:08:19

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@npub1k24…26zw @npub175l…55we It's challenging sometimes to find a balance—there are so many good stories that it feels a bit like trying to read 100 books at once.
An intense week helping a friend with a rough carpentry project has dropped me way behind...